The convenience of streaming services replaced physical media, as catalogs of titles meant consumers had myriad shows and movies at their hands to enjoy. Searching and clicking a title was a lot easier on an app than finding a Blu-ray disc and popping it in. However, a shift is happening, as streamers are pricing out consumers while offering little in the way of quality and ownership.

Physical media interest is on the rise, and today is a great time to start amassing your collection. Here’s why you should be acquiring Blu-rays right now.

Blu-rays offer superior quality

Streaming compression reduces detail and fidelity

If you have a quality smart TV and you enjoy watching movies and shows in a faithful manner, that is, adhering to the director’s vision, then Blu-ray will offer you the best source quality. The Blu-ray disc itself can hold a lot of information, meaning it can contain the full version of a particular title without having to compress it down for size. With a BLu-ray, you’re getting the details, shadows, and gradations that the filmmakers want you to see.

The same isn’t true for streaming. When you’re watching a title on Netflix or Prime Video or Disney+, data is compressed down to a reasonable size to allow the title to get to you quickly and easily. Streaming uses an internet connection to get you your entertainment, and in order to traverse the network, file sizes need to be reduced. Even if you’re using a LAN connection instead of Wi-fi, which you absolutely should do, the file size will be significantly reduced.

Compression removes a lot of details from what you’re watching. With streaming, the movie may look good, but it’s not going to look the best it can. The file size of a Blu-ray may be up to ten times as big as the file size on streaming; the bitrate is also much higher.

Blu-rays offer terrific value

Little investment for longevity

One of the more intriguing reasons to start stocking up on Blu-rays is that there is a lot of opportunity to find discs at a terrific bargain. While new releases may cost a fair amount, you can find older TV shows and movies for mere dollars if you know where to look. Searching through bins at big box stores like Walmart may land you with some great finds. Checking any local media store, especially used media, may earn you some surprises as well.

Because these aren’t necessarily coveted items at the moment, you may find Blu-rays of popular titles for well under $10. It’s also worth checking out reseller platforms to find people interested in selling or trading away their old Blu-rays. Physical discs can last a long time provided they are handled with care, and acquiring them second-hand is a worthy way of building a collection without spending too much money on them.

BLu-ray purchases equate to ownership

Streaming services only provide access

If you can physically hold a piece of media in your hands, then you can actually own it. And that legitimate ownership is a reason you should start investing in Blu-ray right now.

Any streaming subscription you enroll in at the moment, whether it’s for ebooks or movies or video games, grants you access to a library of titles. But you don’t own anything. You are allowed to pursue and stream or borrow media, but you never actually get to keep it. And you can’t even ever be sure that what you are watching, reading, or playing on one day will still be a part of the same catalog the next. The titles may come and go, content may be edited or altered, and at any given point the agreement between you and the service may change. The company may even dissolve.

Even if you purchase a digital copy of a game or title, there’s no guarantee it will stay with you forever. And you definitely can’t trade it, resell it, or let a friend borrow it with ease.

That’s why it’s worth investing in physical media. There is an upfront, one-time cost, and then the item is yours. You can do with it what you want, and you know that the content inside will stay the same forever. It’s yours, and it’s reliable.

Blu-ray discs offer exciting special features

Bonuses and extras are harder to find on streaming services

Perhaps overlooked are all the curious and compelling extras that come with many Blu-rays. Now, these bonus features will vary, and some editions come with far more involved extras than others, but for most discs, it’s not just the movie or show you can enjoy.

Behind-the-scenes features, commentary, bloopers, trailers, interviews, artwork, and all kinds of other bonus material may be available on Blu-ray. For eager fans, these features grant access and create a more immersive world around your favorite title. And some are just fun. Especially in a media landscape where gimmicky interviews do more to serve an actor’s brand than actually share something interesting, audio commentary can be most illuminating.

New movies may be a bit more controlled when it comes to extras, but if you’re watching any stories from the 90s or 2000s, you may stumble upon some amusing anecdotes or honest opinions from actors and filmmakers that don’t feel as calculative as interviews nowadays. And because most streaming services outside of Disney don’t really offer any extras when it comes to titles, these Blu-ray features may make investing in physical media all the more worthwhile.

The time is right to build a collection

As companies push for a digital-only future, consumers are responding with a renewed interest in physical media. For the reasons listed, including better quality and actual ownership, consumers are moving away from streaming services and investing in books, DVDs, Blu-ray, vinyl, and other forms of physical, tangible entertainment.

All of that means is that prices are going to go up. And as companies seek to ensure consumers don’t stray too far from digital media, it’s going to be harder to find physical copies of stories. Those physical versions of movies, shows, books, and games, especially older titles, are going to be coveted and rare.

So it’s important to protect your entertainment interests and resist a future where you don’t really own anything you buy. Instead of championing convenience, consider spending time and money on better quality content.